Michael Jackson Would Down Two Bottles of Cough Syrup Each Night to Help Him Sleep, King of Pop's Former Bodyguard Reveals
Michael Jackson's bodyguard was tasked with getting the singer multiple bottles of cough syrup.
June 2 2026, Published 1:45 p.m. ET
Michael Jackson would routinely gulp down two full bottles of cough syrup to help him sleep, RadarOnline.com can report, which was way more than the small "recommended dosage" on the warning labels, according to his personal bodyguard.
When the syrup failed to help, the singer turned to what would end up being a lethal combination of propofol and benzodiazepine administered by his doctor, leading to his shocking death in 2009.
Michael Jackson's Hunt for Cough Syrup
Bodyguard Matt Fiddes claimed Jackson would finish two bottles each night to help him sleep.
Matt Fiddes, who was Jackson's personal bodyguard from 1999 to 2009, claimed the Thriller singer would often task him with finding the cough syrup bottles.
Fiddes said that because of safety limits in place, he would have to travel to several different pharmacies for the liquids.
When the bodyguard returned with the bottles, he told The Art of Dialogue podcast Jackson would empty them.
"I get to his hotel room, and it horrified me cuz he downed them," Fiddes recalled. "He like, downed them. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then he got another one. Downed it."
The Massive Amount of Medicine Did Not Help
Fiddes said the massive amount of medicine would not help Jackson sleep.
Fiddes said the amount of liquid he drank far exceeded the "daily recommended dose."
"I was like, 'Whoa, I think you should just take two, five (milliliter) teaspoons of that, Mike," Fiddes continued, adding, "He said, 'No, I have to have it. I won't sleep. I got this important meeting in the morning. I got people flying in.'
"And it didn't work. He drank two bottles of it. And he was still wide awake two hours later. He stayed up all night."
Michael Jackson Recruits Conrad Murray
Jackson eventually hired Dr. Conrad Murray to give him stronger drugs.
Soon after, Jackson recruited doctor Conrad Murray to supervise his medical care, paying him a salary of $150,000 a month to help him sleep.
Before hiring Murray, Jackson tried to get doctors to give him "more and more potent sleep drugs and pain killer drugs," according to Jackson biographer Steve Knopper, "and they would say no. But doctor Murray would say yes."
Murray ended up supplying Jackson with various intense painkillers, including Propofol, the drug that killed him. Two years later, Murray was charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
At his trial, it was revealed that Murray treated Jackson's insomnia with a nightly propofol drip, an unstable anesthetic that carried fatal side effects.
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Michael Jackson's Sad Final Days
Fiddes said Jackson was never the same after child sex accusations.
Fiddes confessed his boss changed for the worse after being slammed with accusations of child molestation.
"It was clear after the trial verdict he was never going to be able to click his fingers and be back in Michael Jackson mode again," his bodyguard said. "He was like a walking dead man by the end. Eating and sleeping was a battle; he was just a complete mess."
He continued: "(Jackson) lost so much weight. It took a big toll on him. But he was adamant he wanted to prove his innocence. Michael wanted to get all this rubbish behind him.
"He struggled; it was awful for him to hear all those things said about him. He had no interest in children at all."
